E C H O

I’ve been trapped stressed out for the annual exam, so my kids have been slow lately- for that, I apologize! I have Gumi’s starters and responses queued for tomorrow, but for now, you can like this for a starter!

“w-well, I, uh..” She stammers, hands waving vaguely in front of her as his words catch her off guard- it seems that it’s been happening quite often ever since her return to the city and no matter what somehow slips into everyday conversations like these- before her fingers pause to finally scrub at the short green locks that dust her neck.

“T-That’s absolutely nonsense, you know! Especially since you saw me all the time! I-I’ve done nothing of the sort!”

He huffs, thoroughly embarrassed–though he’s not going to admit that the koi pond at least sounds like something he would do.

“W-Well, I– I can just– I-I can do this, and they always liked to see it!” And then he goes and dramatically frees his hair from the ponytail, striking a pose like he would do during song. Kind of. He looks at least thirty times more embarrassed, but it’s something, right? “Hoh! See?! I-I can… b-be the eye candy!”

“Mm, Galaco and Una have told me some different things than hat you’re saying, but I won’t rat on them here. Besides, lately I’ve been out and around with the Crypton bunch, isn’t that crazy?”

She watches him and for a moment, she’s stunned silent before the characteristic laughter makes way, hand covering her mouth as the other points weakly at him. “G-Gaku, you’re so c-cute!”

“I-I don’t do anything like that! K-Kaito knits, I’ve seen him do it, so he’s more of an old man than me! And– And I can absolutely be ‘ikemen’ if I wanted to! E-Even though I already am without realizing it, but I could certainly do it purposefully too!!”

If only he could go look right now and find out what ‘ikemen’ is entirely supposed to be. Then he could prove her wrong.

“N-Nobody taught me such things! You’re young and said people were calling you a small child, s-so that’s not any better! Hoh!”

“Out there with the rocks and koi pond, practicing your swordsmanship that you’re just waiting for an apprentice to teach. You look wistfully into the sunset on your rocking chair and reflect on your golden years.” More laughter, hands clutching her stomach to catch breaths that don’t need to be made.

“It’s just one of those ‘they try their best but they don’t succeed’ sorts of things, isn’t it? Haha.

Now– j-just hold on a second here! I-I absolutely do not look like I’ve surpassed death! I-I look like a lively young man! People have even called me ‘ikemen,’ and even if I don’t entirely know what that stands for, i-it clearly isn’t something they’d refer to an old man with! Why am I the old man, anyways!? K-Kaito is older than I am! And– Miku! Miku is older than us both!”

“You act like it the most out of all of that, I can say that much with confidence! Like you knit sweaters and tend to a rock garden in your prodigious grandson’s temple. You? Ikemen? Your stutters and blushing always made me think you’d get ‘aa! k-kawaii!’“ Hands folded under her chin with widened eyes to mimic the fans before the stage who crooned the exclamation when he walked on stage.

“Get pictures, Gumi. If you ever need blackmail, you’re set.”

“Well good heavens, if they’re offering you words like they would a human child then they’ve really got something mixed up there, haven’t they.

Either way, th– w-wait just a second! I’m not old! I’m almost nine chronologically, that’s not much older than you! S-So, therefore, you’d be old yourself!”

“It’s funny when they don’t enunciate though- it makes them look like they can’t speak proper English in front of someone whose native language is something else and can do it better.

“…” He would casually place a bag of candy on her head.  “Enjoy your youth while you can.  I’m almost forty..”